Dear Editor:

Tartended a Nov. 4 all-can-
didates meeting sponsored by
the West Vancouver Chamber
of Conmmerce. I was appatied
at the low turnout for such an
important meeting in which
we, the citizens of West
Vancouver were to hear the
platforms and opinions of our
future council.

However, after sitting
through the meeting and
experiencing the tactics and
methods employed, | am net
surprised why the meeting
was so pogrly attended.

After the meeting I over-
heard a candidate running in
the election, but not on the
stage that night state that the
meeting was “appalling.”

The moderator stated that
the audience was to write their
questions. and ke would,
through random selection of
both the questions and the
candidates, pose rhe questions
' ta the candidates after their

initial “two-minute speech.
- That way, he said, there would
:| be no. bias and no questions
directed at t specific candidates.

First of all, chat method
teaves the audience totally dis-
connected from the candi-
dates. There is no opporruni-
ty for dialogue, no opportuni-
ty for the voters to get a tel
for the candidates. No oppor-
tunity to see how ther
respond to the people who
will elect them. There is no
passion. It’s a sterile and
rather dreary process.

Secondly, the moderator
had ail the questions sitting

on the rable in front of him. IF

there was no bias and this was
a totally random process why
was he reading the questions
beforchand?

Why was he seen scribbling
on some of the cards? Why
did it appear thar questions
were selected for certain can-
didates?

If the process was to be

completely unbiased and ran-
dom why were the questions
and the candidates not drawn
out of the “hat?”

We all have a responsibility
to vote in Our municipal eclee-
tions. {also believe thar it is
our responsibiliry, if we want
to have fair and good repze-
sentation by our mayor, coun-
cil, and school board ro learn
about the people running so
we can make informed choic-
es on election day.

Bart if this is the manner in
which the candidates are pre-
sented to us and if this is the
method that governs low we
hear cheir platforms and their
responses to the public, then
we are being done a disservice
by this organization.

Sherry Parrott
West Vancouver
learlsen@sentinel-hill.com

For 4 Straight
Forward Approach

In it, Fraser takes credit for |

d work or our’ associa-
italiza

signed by

$ ~ businesses’ in
“Ambleside about this. issue. J
re” council on

iF ited. out, ‘that’

; Municipal Act, West Vancotiver.
District is in contravention of

that he is responsible

flies j Phe face of fair play and
. Where has he

t three

ink we need hint for three

: Waterford Crvstal |
. ieee = ae |

Design & Plann 2 Consultants

-Councilior

City of North Vancouver -

for 3
2 Why does :

Ss person and

- concemed parént, Deborah ™

. has beén actively promoting fiscal
responsibility and accountability with

all school beard decision-making.

Tim
Morrison

College Administrator and
educztor, Tim is the North
Shore's youngest slecied official and
an energatic advocate for students.
and positive change.

advertorial, November 17/1999

THE NiSGA’A BILL

When the Liberat Government intro-
duced the enabling legistation for the
Nisga‘a Treaty to Parliament on October
21st, the Minister made it clear that
there would be no amendments, no
committee hearings on the Bill, and the
time for debate wauld be severely
restricted. Tinink for a moment how
frustrating that is for me, as your repre-
sentative in the Parilamen? cf Canada.
Not only will the outcome of every vote
on the Siffi be known long before the
debates begin, but any problems with
the BH identified in the speeches | give
will be ignored, and there is no hope of
making even a single amendment ta
the 252 page document. The
Government would have us believe,
apparently, that there is not a single
flaw in the entire Agreement, even
though the Liberal Party of BC, the
Gitanyow First Nation, the Fisheries
Surviva!l Coatition, and even a group of
Nisga'a people themselves, have ali
launched iegai challenges aguinst the
fegisiation. Far from providing the cer-
tainty of outcome promised by the
Minister, the Nisga'a Deal premises
only certainty of income - for the
lawyers who will challenge the Biii in
Court.

COMMITTEE HEARINGS

At the very feast, Reform was deter-
mined te force the Indian Affairs
Committee t% travel to BC ta listen to
input, irrespective of the pesition of the
Minister that no such hearings would be
allowed to take place. Luckily, we found a
way to achieve our goal on Friday,
October 29h, when the Government put a
Motion to the House asking for funds for
the Minister of Finance to travel to London,
Catario to deliver a spaech. Such motions
are routine in nature, and although they

tequire unanimous consent from all par-

ties in the House, consent is usually given
without debate. In this case, howaver,
Reform withheld consent, and refused to
raverse that position until the Govemmerit
agreed te allow the Indian Affairs
Committee to hold pubic hearings in BC.
Those heerings are taking plece this
week, wih the Vancouver meeting

sehaduled for thia Friday, November.
19th, in the Regal Ballroom of tha —

Crowne Plaza Hotel at aot West.
Georgia St, trom Gam t 11.45am, and

from 1.15p2n to 3.20pm. Hi you have an

interest in the Moga's Treaty, ty 40 be
_ there. - _

THE DEBATES

Gosnei responded that he does not
consider the deal to be apartheid-like
because those affected freely voted ior
the system of Government themselves.
f leave it to you to come to your own
conclusions with respect io this
response, but it seems ta me that
apartheid would be apartheid whether
these affected by it voted for it or not.)

TIME ALLOCATION
On the evening of Monday November
1st, after barely 5 hours of debate, the
Liberals forced a vote on tirne allocation
for debates on the Nisga'a Bill, Then the
next day, instead of bringing back Nisga'a,
they brought forward Bill C-4, a complete-
ly innocuous Act, related ta ihe
Intemational Space Station, with no time
limit on the debate. We reacted by putting
up speaker after speaker, with each one
tuming ihe discussion back to Nisga‘a
after a few sentences about the Space
Station project. Liberal after Liberal got up
on points of order to ask the Speaker to.
require us to stay on topic, but we man-
aged to continue to keep Nisga’a front and

centre for the entire day. :

At one point during these proceeid-
ings, representatives from the Office of the
Minister of Industry pleaded with us to let
the Space Station Bill nass and to use our
delaying tactiss on the Municipal Grants
Bill (C10), which was scheduled as next in
line. We made it clear, of course, that we
would be delaying BOTH bills, and would
continue to drag out the business of the
House until the Government began listen-
ing to the concerns being articulated about .
Nisga'a by members. of the Official
Opposition. - :

As things stand at present, ‘the Nisga'a a
Bill is scheduled to be back in the House
in the week beginning November 22nd,
and will probably be rammed through: in-

. double-quick fashion by, the Government. .

The reality of the siiuation i is that there is _

“fitte the. Opposition’ can do to. prevent its ~

passage or to make vary meaningful:
changes, | fic’ ‘matter ow, flawed the:

_ Agreement. Sadly, a provincial. gove:

ment, elected ‘with fess than: 38% of. the

“papular vole, and, a federal | to) eonent

alacted with lass than 38% f the ‘popular

On Monday | ‘November. fstlhad the -°
| opportunity to give a spsech in the House soe

ion Nisga'a. The centrai theme of my

§ speech was one of representation, and the

duty we BC MPs have to cary the mes-
sage of widespread concem about the
Nisga'a deal to Parliament. | pointed out
A that the NDP and Liberal.MPs from this
Frovince have bean jailing to do their duty

by ignoring the heartfelt concerns of their _
g constituents, and by iaking the arrogant :
B position that thay know. better than the |

. people who elected them what is good for
H‘ihe Province.

I Yaits, Rafe Malr, and Gordon Gibson, as
wall as positions taken from letters: and

phone. calls to my office irom constituents. -
“falso raised the issue of the constitutien- S
| ality of an agreement which sets up anew

devel of Government, based entirely on
race, and mentioned the calls | have had

, from immigrants from South Africa, wno_.

{ now live in Narth Vancouver, and who see
the elements of apertheid in the Treaty,
(At feast partly as a result of my
speach, the question of ‘apartheid was

putto Chief Joe Gosneal by 2 Libaral MP.
“ln Committee later in the week. Chief.

1 read into the. record ©
excerpts from articles written by Baitara ™:

. stander at tiving on. any: non aeaty,
reserve. As of. today, i am otitl waitl 9